Charles Hamelin leads Canada’s short track team into World Cup season

Canada's Charles Hamelin, centre, leads other skaters during the men's 500-meter final at the ISU World Cup short track speed skating competition at Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China, on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. Hamelin finished in a time of 40.905 seconds.

The Hamelin brothers, Jean, Gilday, McFarlane, Maltais, Hewitt, Truchon and St-Gelais earned their berths via their performances at the recent national trials in Calgary.

Drolet received an injury bye onto the team because she had concussion-symptoms after a fall during trials. Bastille and Gregg were discretionary selections by the high-performance committee.

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"With the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games only 16 months away, it was important that the primary focus of team selection was to select the best team to compete at each of the World Cups," short track program director Yves Hamelin said in a statement Monday.

"These events are important in providing our skaters with international competition for Sochi 2014 Olympics preparation. Our discretionary selections also allow us to continue building a strong foundation for the best team possible for key international events."

The Canadian open championships in Montreal in January will determine the skaters for two remaining World Cups and the world championship March 8-10 in Debrecen, Hungary.

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